Avocado and Cilantro Crema

Avocado and Cilantro Crema

We have a black bean tostada night once every 2 weeks.  It's simple, and definitely a lazy girl dinner, because I open a can of black refined beans heat them then add them to a piping hot and crisp tortilla. I top the tortilla with cheese, sliced tomatoes, cilantro, and either a fresh guacamole or this Avocado Crema.  The result is a delicious and lazy dinner! Simple ingredients, but oh so good. My husband raves about this dinner every time we have it. The best thing about this is that you throw everything into a blender and a minute later the sauce is done. If you want to make this vegan, paleo or Whole 30 approved just omit the yogurt and replace with 1/4 cup of water.

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Here's what you need:

Ingredients

1 large ripe avocado

3 tablespoons of yogurt--can sub sour cream

1/4 cup of cilantro

juice of 1/2 lime==more if you like

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Directions:  Add all the ingredients to a blender.

Blend on high until smooth and lump free.

Serve and enjoy!

Oven-Roasted Broccolini with Lemon-Garlic Parmesan

Oven Roasted Broccolini with Lemon-garlic Parmesan

 

Going to the Farmer's market on Sunday has become routine for my family.  My daughter gets excited about going and so do I.  I never know what my weekly meal plan will include until after I've forged my way through the market.  This week the pickings were slim.  I don't know if was just extremely busy before we got to the farmer's market, or if the farmer's just didn't have much to share.  Either way, I left with only two produce items--broccolini and strawberries.  Not my usual bountiful assortment.  I had no idea how I was going to prepare the broccolini, and decided just before cooking it, to roast it and top it with the lemon-garlic parmesan mixture.  The flavors sounded like they would pair well to me, so I took an chance, and I'm so glad I did.  Beside's my Roasted Broccoli with Garlic--this is new favorite way to prepare broccoli. For my Paleo, Vegan, and Whole 30 friends leave out the cheese, this is still great without it--the lemon really makes this broccolini sing!

 

 

 

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb of organic broccolini (can sub broccoli)

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon of lemon powder (can sub 1 teaspoon of lemon zest)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons of oil plus an additional 2 teaspoons

sea salt to taste

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 450F.  To a small bowl add parmesan, garlic, and 2 teaspoons of oil,

mix well and set aside.

Line a bake sheet with foil, add the broccolini, 2 tablespoons of oil, and sea salt and toss well.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes.  At the 10 minute mark, remove the sheet pan from the oven, and top with the lemon-garlic parmesan mixture.

Return the pan to the oven and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the parmesan browns, remove from oven, serve and enjoy!

 

If you like this recipe you might like my recipe for Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan, Lemon and red pepper flakes, or my recipe Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Romaine.

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Chicken in Milk

Chicken in milk

 

A few weeks a go I came across a recipe for Chicken and Milk by Jaime Oliver.  The recipe used one of my favorite ingredients--a whole chicken.  It seemed simple (code:Lazy) enough for me to try.   It didn't require much more than adding the ingredients to a pot and letting it braise for an hour or so.  It also featured another one of my favorite ingredients-lemon with the addition of the milk--taste buds were anticipating  chicken stewed in a creamy lemon sauce. The sauce was not as creamy as I had anticipated and hoped for, but it was still a great sauce none the less.  While Jaime Oliver's recipe looked amazing, I did add a few of my own touches to the recipe.  I have been reading about the use of lemon leaves, (from a lemon tree), in cooking.  The leaves are usually used in the same way that bay leaves are used. You use them to impart flavor but you never eat them.  If you have a lemon tree, pick two of the most beautiful leaves that you can find, wash them and add them to this dish.  Also be grateful that the next time you trim your lemon tree, you will have an alternative way to use the leaves--you can dry them just like bay leaves! If you don't have a lemon tree call a friend or neighbor who does and ask for a few! Just make sure to ask if they use any pesticides on their tree.   If that attempt fails, just cook this without the lemon leaves. I also added poultry seasoning, I didn't have any fresh sage, which Jaimie's recipe calls for.  The poultry seasoning has sage, so I used it.

 

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 1.5 hours mostly non active

 

Ingredients:

5 pound Whole Organic Chicken

10 cloves of garlic (whole no need to remove the skin)

Zest of two lemons (1 Tablespoon of lemon zest)

2 Leaves from a Lemon Tree

3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning

1/2 stick of cinnamon

Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

 

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 375F  Rub the chicken generously with the olive oil, and season with a good amount of sea salt and black pepper.

 

Then Brown both sides of the chicken over medium high heat. Once brown add in the Lemon zest, garlic, poultry seasoning, cinnamon, and milk.  

 

 

Cover the pot with a secure lid, then transfer the pot to the oven and cook for 1.5 hours   Remove from oven. serve and enjoy!